DETAILED CASE HISTORY AND EVENTS

The case is closely connected with the state of California and, to be more precise, several of its regions, and it also covers more than ten years of the criminal activities of the perpetrator. Thus, for better case comprehension, it is required to analyze its chronology, the types of offenses, and the issues the police encountered during the investigation.

The Timeline of Crimes

Joseph DeAngelo began committing crimes in the early 1930s and continued until the mid-1980s. His various crimes are grouped into phases, corresponding to the different aliases he used.

Visalia Ransacker (1974-1976)

DeAngelo gained popularity as the “Visalia Ransacker." Moreover, the name was derived from the city of Visalia, California. As a result, he performed a series of burglaries, involved himself in a home invasion, and stole personal effects. He acted aggressively, including breaking property and moving household items in a threatening manner to the victims. The worst crime that characterized this phase was the shooting of Claude Snelling by the former in an attempt to kidnap his daughter to per his intention in September 1975 (Smith, 2019).

East Area Rapist (1976-1979)

DeAngelo’s move to Sacramento marks the change to sexual violence. The man came to be referred to as the East Area Rapist, who attacked women and couples in their homes. Some of the facts about his behavior were: Stalking his victims; he would observe them day and night before slashing them. He would burgle houses usually at night, tie his prey, and rape them (Murphy, 2020). If the case is between two people, he would restrain the male member of the couple and make him watch the ordeal. These crimes made people in Sacramento and nearby areas live in constant fear.

Original Night Stalker (1979-1986)

The most violent period in DeAngelo's criminal career began in Southern California, during which he raped and murdered several people. Also known as ''The Original Night Stalker,'' he focused on couples only, where he would gag and attack them before killing them in their residence (Wilson, 2020). The victims during this phase were Cheri Domingo, Greg Sanchez, Lyman, and Charlene Smith. The killings were violent, and most of the time, there were cases of blunt-force trauma or suffocation.

CHALLENGES IN THE INVESTIGATION

While committing the crime, the police encountered several challenges. The crimes spanned several legal jurisdictions, which caused the disconnection of investigations. Lacking modern facilities for communication or databases, the investigators failed to pull the threads together linking the various crimes.
There was no advanced forensic technology to aid the investigation, which was also a drawback. Although the samples were taken from the crime scenes, there was no technique to compare or analyze the DNA then. This meant that investigators could not go far beyond eyewitness testimonies and physical evidence in the case.
DNA analysis did not come into the picture until the late 1990s and the early years of the year 2000. By then, the crimes had become unsolved, and the identity of the Golden State Killer remained unnoticed. But there was no stopping for investigators, and with the new achievements in the forensics sphere, there was a new light on the case.

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